Coaptating socket for artificial legs



1. F. ROWLEY.

COAPTATING SOCKET FOR ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

Patented Jan. 11,1921.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1920.

drwenjn' KZITWG 7775221 [6y q I a I UNITED STATES JAMES FRANCIS ROWLEY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COAPTATING SOCKET FOR ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

ToaZZ whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES F RowLEY,

and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coaptating Sockets for Artificial Legs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to artificial legs where the amputation is between the knee and the ankle joint.

Coaptating pads, as known in the artificial limb art, are formed of plastic material such as paraifin, wax, etc., in combination with cotton or wool fabrics and leather, but invariably are solidly backed and reinforced by the shell or body of the leg, and in fitting a patient with an artificial leg,the leg must be interiorly surfaced to an enlarged contour of the stump, and the pad must be in place in the limb before it is shaped to exactly fit the stump. To simplify the manufacture and fitting of artificial legs it a. purpose of this invention to providea coa-ptating pad which will make unnecessary the surfacing of the interior of the leg to the form of the stump- Another object of the present invention is to provide a coaptating pad which may be shaped previously to mounting in the artificial leg and also when desired, after it is in place in the leg.

\Vith the coaptating pads which have been generally used in artificial legs considerable work is necessary in refitting the leg to the stump after shrinkage has occurred in the latter. The reshaping of the interior of the socket portion of the leg and making and adjusting liners to compensate for the shrinkage of the soft parts of the stump leg is necessary to the comfort of the user. It is a further object of the invention to make unnecessary this additional work required to maintain a correct fit as by means of the present invention it is possible with a new cast of the stump to reduce the original socket to fit the stump.

The stump leg for below the knee is composed of the bony structure and the soft parts, the latter being the remnants of muscles (whose general purpose has been interrupted by amputation); and adipose tissue. When subjected to everyday use the soft parts atrophy or shrink until no surplus tissue remains. This makes very prominent the bony protuberances, with the re- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

Application filed November 15, 1920. Serial No. 424,200.

sult that the ordinary socket must undergo many changes to keep it sufficiently comforta citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook able to be worn.

In the provision of satisfactorily fitting artificial legs, considerable expense is in yolved when the patient is distantly located, 1n that it is usually necessary for him to be present when the coaptating pad is finally mounted and shaped within the artificial limb. By means of the present design the pad, without the artificial limb, may be made to conform with the stump and then without losing its shape may at any time be easily mounted in the artificial limb bv the patient if necessary.

The purposes of the invention are accomplished by use of cordovan soaked in hot waxy material such as parafiin, and then shaplng a socket with the waxed cordovan while still warm by forming it around a plaster model of the stump, made in accordance with the disclosure in Rowley Patent No. 1,351,789. Such material as cordovan would ordinarily stretch and lose its shape it it were not saturated or rather thickly coated with the waxy material. This material when warm will allow the shaping and some stretching of the cordovan, but at normal temperatures prevents stretching to such an extent that the breaking point is reached at practically the same time as stretching becomes noticeable.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention by showing the improved design in side elevation and partly in section.

In the form shown in the drawings, the artificial limb is of the type which is used in cases of amputation below the knee, and consists of a body or leg section 1, having a socket 2 suspended at its upper end for receiving the stump of the wearers leg, and having the usual laced belt 3 for engaging the thigh portion of the leg and connected with the leg section by the usual side braces 4 and knee hinges 5.

The socketmember 2 is formed of flexible material, preferably a high-grade Cordovan leather thoroughly impregnated with paraffin wax. The socket member 2' is shaped to accurately fit and support the stump and is connected to the walls of the body of the leg section at the top and bottom. The wooden walls of the leg section are clear of the socket at all points and need not fit the stump except at the top. The upper edge of the socket and its reinforcement 7 are preferably rolled over the upper rim of the leg section and set into the same flush with the outer surface, as is indicated at 6 in the drawings.

The socket 2 is preferably outwardly flared at its lower end to provide ears for attachment to the leg section 1. It is also reinforced where the bearings are greatest by a second, and sometimes a third, layer of cordovan or heavier material 7 which is also impregnated with parafiin and reinforces the socket at the point of attachment to the leg section. It is further reinforced at the points of greatest strain by the steel plates 8.

Inasmuch as this construction obviates any necessity for having the interior walls of the leg body conform with the stump or the coaptating socket, the work of fitting the limb to the stump is greatly simplified. At the same time, the stump is supported in a flexible bag which insures that the pressure due to the weight of the wearer is uniformly distributed over the stump and no portion of the shell of the limb can bear upon the stump and cause discomfort. Likewise, the socket is free when warmed to coaptate with or adjust its form to that of the stump.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, it will be, understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An artificial leg, comprisin a rigid hollow body, a socket member freely coaptating to the stump leg when warm, suspended within said body and for the most part clear of the walls thereof, said socket member being formed of leather impregnated with a wax-like substance.

2. An artificial leg, comprising a rigid hollow body, a socket member freely coaptating when warm to adjust itself to the irregularities of the stump of the natural leg suspended within said body and for the most part clear of the walls thereof, said socket member being formed of a non-elastic waxy body.

3. An artificial leg, comprisin a rigid hollow body, a socket member %reely coa-ptating when warm, suspended within said body and for the most part clear of the walls thereof, said socket member consisting of a laminated non-elastic waxy body.

4. An artificial leg, comprisin a rigid hollow body, a socket member reely coaptating to the stump leg when warm, sus pended within said body and for the most part clear of the walls thereof, said socket member being formed of leather impregnated with a wax-like substance and having a steel reinforcement at the points of greatest strain near its attachment with the rigid hollow body.

Signed at Chicago this 11th day of November 1920.

' JAMES FRANCIS ROWLEY. 

